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Book your New Year

The Library Center’s Civil War Book Discussion group will meet again on Monday January 24 for a discussion of The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. The meeting will begin at 7 P.M. in Meeting Room A. Shaara describes the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3 1863, through the eyes of prominent commanders like Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, Joshua Chamberlain, and a fictional sergeant, Buster Kilrain. Those three days have been the subject of hundreds of books and articles, but Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize novel is arguably the best known.

The 1993 motion picture Gettysburg was based on The Killer Angels. Directed by Ron Maxwell, it featured well-known actors such as Martin Sheen, Jeff Daniels, Sam Elliott, and Tom Berenger. Portions of the film were shot on the actual battlefield and several area reenactors served as extras. It was released on October 8 1993, and even though all local theatres reported strong interest in it, area residents had to wait for the film to make it here. Nearly a month after its release, Gettysburg premièred in Springfield on December 3 at Battlefield Mall 6 Theatre.